New Year/New Setting: GURPS world design 'game'

[combatmedic]

The concept: shared world building

The rules/guidelines:

• Feel free to draw inspiration from books, movies, video games, etc, but avoid direct lifts. No Jedi knights, but forceswords are fine.
• No hobbits, but some kind of 'little folk' are fine. You get the idea. If you do adapt something fairly specific, file off the serial numbers, and try to put your own spin on it.
  
• Races/species: humans, homebrew stuff,
• 'generic' races from GURPS books like Aliens and Fantasy Folk,
  
• Exception: No elves, dwarves, hobbits, or orcs. I like all these guys, but I think it'll be fun to leave them out.

• Each post after this one should refer to something in one or more of the previous posts. You can spin off the most recent post, or reach clear back to the first post. The reference may be significant or just a slender connection.

(This will keep things somewhat tied together.)



I'll begin the thread with a basic physical concept for the world.

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The world is a tide-locked planet, and the twlilight zone is ( for some reason) a 'shirtsleeve environment' for human beings. Other regions may or may not be habitable for humans or other life, depending on what you guys develop. This could be sci fi, fantasy, or a mix. That's up to the posters who will follow me.

[C4lv1n]

This doesn't need to be how it works but the sun facing side could be summer equivlent, and the side facing away could be winter equivlent. Getting more extreme as you near the poles.

EDIT: How about the areas ~45 degrees both ways scale with what we have on earth, at 45 degrees from each pole would be either the abolute hottest or coldest it is here on earth.

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by C4lv1n

This doesn't need to be how it works but the sun facing side could be summer equivlent, and the side facing away could be winter equivlent. Getting more extreme as you near the poles.

EDIT: How about the areas ~45 degrees both ways scale with what we have on earth, at 45 degrees from each pole would be either the abolute hottest or coldest it is here on earth.

I really like that. We should use it.

This sounds like a fantasy setting to me, but it could be a sci world with amazing climate control tech ( possibly left over from a previous civilization. The two things are pretty much the same).


I'm going to let a third person post before I actually add material. I'd like to see what other people come up with,

[C4lv1n]

Note: This post would probably be more appropriate for a Fantasy setting than a Sci-Fi one.

Just throwing out more stuff to see what sticks but in the equatorial regions we could have a human equivlent race. Then on each side as you get closer to the extreme temperatures you could have races appropriate for the extreme cold/heat (Thick fur or hide/Cold blooded, scales), and constant day/night (Eyes suited for very bright light/Eyes not using visible light).

Neither race would really have any understanding of what light/dark or hot/cold is except for the rare members of their race and their exchanges with humans who could facilitated trade.

Maybe neither race would want to go past (or maybe even get near) the twighlight zone the humans inhabit.

The two races meeting should be rare, and both races could set up trading posts near but not quite in the twighlight zone and have the humans travel to the posts to get the goods.

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by C4lv1n

Note: This post would probably be more appropriate for a Fantasy setting than a Sci-Fi one.

Just throwing out more stuff to see what sticks but in the equatorial regions we could have a human equivlent race. Then on each side as you get closer to the extreme temperatures you could have races appropriate for the extreme cold/heat (Thick fur or hide/Cold blooded, scales), and constant day/night (Eyes suited for very bright light/Eyes not using visible light).

Neither race would really have any understanding of what light/dark or hot/cold is except for the rare members of their race and their exchanges with humans who could facilitated trade.

Maybe neither race would want to go past (or maybe even get near) the twighlight zone the humans inhabit.

The two races meeting should be rare, and both races could set up trading posts near but not quite in the twighlight zone and have the humans travel to the posts to get the goods.

That all looks good to me.

I don't know that we need to worry much about 'sci fi' vs 'fantasy.' There is a lot of overlap between the two genres, to the point where I could argue that we are really looking at one broad genre.

[C4lv1n]

We just need a third or fourth person in here, it doesn't help that it's the middle of the night

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

I really like that. Most of the planet is more or less open for travel or inhabitation without ultatech or magic survival gear, but we have a nod to naturalism. The daylight side is hot, and the night side is cold.

This sounds like a fantasy setting to me, but it could be a sci world with amazing climate control tech ( possibly left over from a previous civilization. The two things are pretty much the same).

,

Actually all it takes is a really dense atmosphere to transfer the heat around as far as climate, but since presumably you don't want the nightside to be dead (or illuminated by mirrors), you need fantasy to create a backside ecology. Note that this creates a world with really violent weather. We need to put up mountain chains to keep it from being scoured by high power winds, but even with them, you'll see a lot of gales and hurricanes on the seas.

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Actually all it takes is a really dense atmosphere to transfer the heat around as far as climate, but since presumably you don't want the nightside to be dead (or illuminated by mirrors), you need fantasy to create a backside ecology. Note that this creates a world with really violent weather. We need to put up mountain chains to keep it from being scoured by high power winds, but even with them, you'll see a lot of gales and hurricanes on the seas.

I think we are leaning towards some fantastic explanation for the habitability of a large portion of the planet. The level of 'realism' is not terribly high thus far, and that's fine by me.

I really like the idea of storm-wracked seas. That makes sea travel a very dangerous proposition. It might allow for some isolated civilizations (descendants of castaways?) on larger islands.

High winds may also tend to restrict air travel and aerial warfare. I like that.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

... you need fantasy to create a backside ecology.

That one's traditionally difficult. It's the same problem as lively ecologies in vast underground caverns; an absence of any energy input. Fungi are the traditional answer, but they live off releasing chemical energy in decaying organic material, and after a while, they run out unless more material comes along.

The violent weather makes human life possible on the dark side. Just about. Lightning in this weird atmosphere forms some basic compounds, which rain carries to the ground, and which "plants" live off. This means that the only places deep in the dark side where there's enough food for human settlements are where mountains cause serious rain traps; places near the twilight zone will trade for food as much as they can, and may even try to use force to take it.

The native race of the dark side lives off specific minerals, and are biologically completely alien. Because they've eaten all the surface food, the live off industrial-scale mining now, which has made the operators of the food mines into dictators.

[Faolyn]

Originally Posted by johndallman

That one's traditionally difficult. It's the same problem as lively ecologies in vast underground caverns; an absence of any energy input. Fungi are the traditional answer, but they live off releasing chemical energy in decaying organic material, and after a while, they run out unless more material comes along.

The violent weather makes human life possible on the dark side. Just about. Lightning in this weird atmosphere forms some basic compounds, which rain carries to the ground, and which "plants" live off. This means that the only places deep in the dark side where there's enough food for human settlements are where mountains cause serious rain traps; places near the twilight zone will trade for food as much as they can, and may even try to use force to take it.

The native race of the dark side lives off specific minerals, and are biologically completely alien. Because they've eaten all the surface food, the live off industrial-scale mining now, which has made the operators of the food mines into dictators.

It could be tectonically active, thus providing oases of high temperature. Even if these areas couldn't provide areas for agriculture, they could support small areas of ecosystem. Probably very alien ecosystems, though.

Since it's a fantasy world, you can assume fantasy plant life (or sedentary animal life) that absorb the heat out of living beings.